Gaming, Media Consumption and G-Sync

This is where the Acer Predator shines

For movies, the Predator X34 was an absolute treat. The slightly curved nature of its screen lends to the overall illusion of immersion. The vast width of this display allows loftier-stop 21:nine cinematic content without letterboxing (i.due east. blackness bars on top and bottom). This makes for a spectacular widescreen experience. And while this type of content will bring you much joy, more pedestrian sixteen:9 content volition be pillarboxed (i.e. black confined on the sides). xvi:9 formatted content is quite prolific online (and for older flicks) but it'southward non so bad; the brandish is large enough that yous notwithstanding go a sizeable paradigm when compared to whatsoever 24 inch or 27 inch sixteen:nine screen.


credit: Newegg / Gamecrate

Equally you might expect, gaming is where the Acer Predator X34 really shines. Its continuous ultra wide expanse was significantly more than immersive than traditional sixteen:x or 16:9 displays. The curved design is part of this, but certainly the 21:9 aspect ratio is the unmarried largest reason. The wider field of view theoretically grants gamers an edge; being able to meet more on screen can be a valuable advantage. In few words, connecting a fast G-Sync-enabled PC to the beautiful enormity that is the Predator X34 is something close to gaming elation.

Are in that location any drawbacks to going ultrawide? Admittedly. However, not all complaints volition exist of equal importance to everyone. Showtime, it'south worth noting some graphics-intensive titles will require college-end hardware to run smoothly at 3440 x 1440 in its full glory.

Compared to typical 1920 10 1080 displays, the Predator X34'south native resolution more than doubles the corporeality of pixels on screen. This will quickly requite y'all trouble on budget and mid-range GPUs.

Playing games ultrawide

or not...

Another irritation is the need for games to support ultrawide resolutions. Some titles simply don't work (or piece of work well) in 21:9 aspect ratio. Fallout 4's HUD, for example, doesn't scale properly at 21:9. Sleeping Dogs did pretty well, but some cine were pillarboxed and in-game UI elements kept their 16:ix positioning. Curiously, Bioshock Infinite happily supported an aspect ratio of "42:eighteen" but worked flawlessly.

As expected, some games (Marvel Heroes) tin can't do ultrawide at all, while some older titles (Dungeons and Dragons Online, Diablo 3, Squad Fortress 2) may surprise you with their solid ultra-broad support. With that said, many games handle ultrawide ratios just fine, like Warhammer: Stop Times - Vermintide and Metro 2099: Last Calorie-free.

Ultimately, your experience will depend largely on your favorite games. Exist sure to exercise a bit of inquiry before you take the plunge. Equally nosotros motion into the future, it's a rubber bet almost new titles will back up 21:9, and so endeavour not to let a few bad apples scare you away from the ultrawide experience.

G-Sync

The Predator X34'due south defining feature is arguably K-Sync, Nvidia's proprietary variable refresh charge per unit technology. Of form, the Predator X34's immense size and reasonably good image production go far a wonderful canvas for showcasing Grand-Sync and aye, the results are very pleasing.

At their core, VRR technologies (G-Sync, FreeSync) aim to eliminate frame stuttering and screen tearing past synchronizing display timings to frame rates. The "proper name brand" VRR strategies as well perform numerous tricks to enhance this illusion, but that's the gist of it. And as some witnesses may adjure, cute things happen when FPS and refresh charge per unit are in agreement. It should be said that non-VRR displays with very high refresh rates (e.thou. 144Hz) can likewise provide gamers with a smooth experience. Even so, the most gorgeous titles crave absurdly high-finish hardware to make the well-nigh of this. G-Sync and similar technologies offering comparably smoothen gameplay to the masses even at lower, less consequent frame rates.

Of class, it would be remiss to discuss G-Sync without discussing VRR a little bit. Equally awesome as VRR may be, the technology is mired in industry politics. Essentially, the graphics card y'all own determines what display you'll need (or vice-versa) for full VRR enjoyment. At the fourth dimension of this writing, there are no displays (nor graphics cards) which support both G-Sync and FreeSync together. They are mutually exclusive, for at present, at least.

K-Sync monitors require Nvidia hardware, more specifically a GeForce GTX 650 Ti or newer. Such displays are equipped with custom G-Sync scalers which come at an additional manufacturing cost. Arguably, this hardware gave Nvidia a technical edge early on in the VRR war, but FreeSync has quickly evolved into something that is at least comparable. At nowadays, information technology's fair to say both technologies have their strengths and weaknesses.

The large alternative to G-Sync, FreeSync, is an AMD technology and -- you guessed it -- requires an AMD GPU. The uniform GPU list for FreeSync is a bit more complicated than the G-Sync listing, but generally a Radeon HD 260 or newer is required. 1 absurd thing FreeSync has going for it is its reliance on Adaptive-Sync, an open up, royalty free VESA standard. If your display does FreeSync and then it necessarily supports Adaptive-Sync. Any graphics hardware (not but AMD's) may be capable of bones VRR provided it has two primary ingredients: DisplayPort i.2a back up and driver support.

Intel recently announced information technology will support Adaptive-Sync in its future graphics silicon. In fact, even Nvidia could support Adaptive-Sync on futurity chipsets (Pascal, maybe?) only let's exist clear: FreeSync is non Adaptive-Sync. Sure, FreeSync leverages Adaptive-Sync, only both G-Sync and FreeSync exercise a bit more than simply synchronize refresh rates with frame buffers. Each engineering science employs its ain prepare of psychovisual tricks which tin lead FreeSync, G-Sync and varying Adaptive-Sync implementations to perform differently under different scenarios. What works best can sometimes be situational, but from what I've seen, any VRR is an improvement over just beingness able to toggle 5-sync off on or on.

Although I'thousand not personally sold on Thou-Sync due to its licensing and hardware costs, I am (if you lot haven't guessed) a fan of VRR more by and large. Getting this silky smooth experience on Nvidia hardware volition cost you though.

The Acer Predator X34 with G-Sync MSRPs for a stiff $1299. Meanwhile, the visitor's decidedly less sexy sounding XR341CK model with FreeSync offers nearly identical specs sans Grand-Sync for $1099 (actually $850 every bit of writing). Such a markup seems savage, merely this cost disparity is fairly congruent with other M-Sync displays when compared to their non-Thou-Sync counterparts. Remember, the Predator X34 with G-Sync does non support Adaptive-Sync nor FreeSync, so make extra certain you take the right hardware before splurging on this brandish.

Closing Thoughts

With fiddling doubt, Acer's new display is an addition worthy of any gaming rig armed with a half-decent Nvidia carte du jour. Drooling for a curvaceous, ultrabig and ultrawide G-Sync experience? Well and then, this is your simply and all-time choice at the moment. If the price tag doesn't scare you away -- which too happens to be the highest MSRP for whatever curved 34-inch UQHD display -- the Predator X34 is currently the but offer in its class to characteristic Thou-Sync.

Triple monitor, ultrawide (and ultraexpensive) gaming?
Gamecrate put together a crazy gaming build with evident incredible results.

Putting G-Sync bated for a infinitesimal, the Predator X34 is a proficient bundle overall. It boasts skilful effulgence, color and contrast with minimal IPS glow making information technology a expert selection for home and office employ. Exceptional IPS console functioning paired with a 100Hz vertical refresh rate too makes this a decent option for veteran gamers. Lastly, the Predator X34 is comprised of enough inches and pixels to make a reasonable substitute for more than traditional dual screen setups.

The Predator X34 also has its share of faults. Dropping $1299 on a display with limited input connectivity, clumsy OSD controls and potential backlight bleed problems will undoubtedly brand some buyers squeamish. In that location's also a lack of 3D back up with 100Hz being the highest (official) refresh rate. 100Hz isn't bad, but at that place'southward a growing number of 144Hz monitors out at that place, so the Predator X34's oddball 100Hz refresh rate may underwhelm some.

Don't care well-nigh G-Sync? Then await at Acer's own FreeSync model (XR341CK) which used to cost about $200 less, notwithstanding it's dropped fifty-fifty further to $850 as of writing. Rivals similar Samsung, LG, HP and Dell all offer 34-inch curved displays ranging from $900-$1200, but you won't find K-Sync on any of them.

Acer has this niche market cornered for now. I say for now, because Asus announced the ROG Swift PG348Q, a comparable brandish with G-Sync. Supposedly arriving in early 2022, Asus' curved 34 inch UQHD display not simply does G-Sync, but matches the Predator X34'south peculiar 100Hz refresh rate.

With that in mind, it seems reasonable to suspect the Asus ROG PG348Q and Predator X34 will actually share the aforementioned AH-IPS display panel. While we can expect some differences in overall pattern, flare and maybe (only not necessarily) price, panel quality should be identical. If this is indeed the case, then the Acer Predator X34 is a quick mode to jump aboard the ultrawide One thousand-Sync railroad train now, instead of later on.

Pros: Astonishing overall gaming feel. The Predator X34 checks all the boxes (IPS, WQHD, 100hz and Grand-Sync support) with strong performance and image quality.

Cons: Expensive. Some noticeable backlight bleed.

Masthead image and some other images courtesy of Newegg.